Financing

Management

Public Management kept everyone focused on strengthening the community. That way, everyone could rally around a common vision—and a shared commitment.

IN THE EARLY 1990s, restaurant developer Landry’s, Inc. started acquiring existing buildings and properties along the waterfront in Kemah, Texas with the intent of developing a boardwalk and amusement destination.

In a previous engagement with the City of Kemah, Public Management, Inc. recommended upgrading the roads and drainage in the vicinity of the proposed boardwalk to provide better access to future development. The Landry’s team agreed with Public Management’s assessment and began planning the infrastructure upgrades.

The possibility of construction in the area became a serious concern to local merchants, who feared the project would impede access and disrupt local business. Public Management successfully navigated several contentious public meetings and helped establish common ground. In addition, Public Management insisted that the project engineers’ initial recommendation of a two-lane entry into the area would be inadequate to handle the anticipated traffic. The development team affirmed Public Management’s strategy, and elected to widen two important surface streets to four lanes.

With general approval of the project plan, Public Management developed a Texas Capital Fund (TCF) grant application for $500,000 in grant funds on a multi-million-dollar project investment. The project was funded, and construction was completed within the two-year TCF-prescribed timeframe. Throughout the course of the project, Public Management was responsible for the administration of the grant and for ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations.

The Kemah Boardwalk project created an estimated 900–1,000 new jobs, and quickly became one of the state’s most popular tourist destinations.

Thanks to the success of the development and the influx of sales tax, the City of Kemah was able to reduce its ad valorem tax rate—and still fund several major water, sewer and drainage projects in other parts of the city.

CLIENT CHALLENGES

Initial plans for infrastructure improvements were inadequate to support projected increase in vehicle traffic

Local merchants feared development and construction would limit access and threaten small business

OUR SOLUTIONS

Successfully advocated for expanded infrastructure

Hosted a series of public meetings to address local merchants’ concerns

Applied for TCF grant to supplement the project scope and budget

THE RESULTS

Mitigated conflict and negotiated consensus between developers and local businesses

Public Management helped ensure that each project addressed residents’ needs, all while maintaining compliance with the various agencies’ requirements for funding. Since many of the projects were financed with grant funds, city leaders were able to direct resources to other recovery efforts—and eliminate the need to issue bonds or increase taxes.